Save Yourself
by Kashmir Winchester
Summary: When Carly Cooper reaches out to her long-lost dad, Bobby Singer, she didn't except to reconnect with the one person from the past she never stopped thinking about. So what happens when she finds out this person was going to die in a year? Will she put their turbulent past behind her? Dean/OC, eventual Cas/OC - PICKS UP FROM S3E1
1. Prologue

Story title_ → Save Yourself_

Pairings → Dean/Carly, eventual Castiel/Joshua

Rating → T for language; might change to M for possible sexual content.

Summary → When Carly Cooper reaches out to her long-lost dad, Bobby Singer, she didn't except herself to reconnect with the one person from the past she always thought about. So what happens when she finds out this person was going to die in a year? Will she put their turbulent past behind her? Dean/OC, eventual Cas/OC - PICKS UP FROM S3E1

Disclaimer → I own nothing which is in any way featured on 'Supernatural'. I only own Carly Cooper, Greg and Joshua Black. Title inspired by the song 'Save Yourself' by Sense Field.

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**I started writing this in summer with a good friend of mine - Joshua - who also happens to be a big fan of the show, and decided to post it here. This won't be updated as often as the other fanfic, as this follows some of the episodes and I have to find the scripts AND watch the whole episode for more detail. But I hope you like it!**

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Prologue.

Bobby blinked rapidly, making sure it wasn't the alcohol doing its job already.

Nope, he was sober alright. As sober as he could possibly be.

He looked back at the letter he'd received that morning from a girl claiming to be his daughter. What shocked him wasn't the fact that he had some love child from some woman he didn't know, but that he already met this girl.

Carly Cooper was one of the feistiest, wisest hunter he had ever worked with... and the only female one in general. She knew each and every exorcism that existed by heart, and could dictate lores as if she was uttering the alphabet. He disregarded their similar accents, but now it was dawning on him. The similar accent, ideologies, tastes in weaponry and alcoholic beverages...

Bobby went back to reading the letter. He smiled softly when he came across the name of his love child's mother: Anne Cooper. Oh yes, he sighed happily, leaning further into his seat. That night in San Diego was unforgettable alright.

Now even more, with the whole daughter thing.

The closing line of the letter caught his eye.

"... _If you ever need help, my phone is always __available__._" and below was her phone number. Bobby picked up his cordless phone and cursed inwardly.

Dean was going to kill him.

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**Yes, I am aware that it's very short, but depending on how well it does on its first night, I'll publish the first chapter, which is longer I promise! Leave your feedback, which I enjoy reading and give me motivation to write more chapters :)**


	2. Chapter 1 - Unintended

**First chapter! I'm excited to see where this goes as regards popularity. I'm still halfway through the second chapter, which is the first chapter based on the show. I hope that by the time this story starts getting reviews, I'll be finished with the second chapter (which hopefully is sooner than later!)**

**Hope you guys like it!**

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Chapter One - Unintended.

Sam was still wary about Dean selling his soul, so as soon as he got to Bobby's he found refuge in the study, amongst the old books and mild stench of rotting food.

Dean sighed and shook his head. He thought that he'd make things better by bringing his brother back, but boy was he wrong. Right now he had two things on his to-do list: fix things between him and his younger brother, and hunt down the son of a bitch who stabbed his brother in the first place, Joshua.

Sam had been abducted to the middle of nowhere by Azazel, along with other people his age who had special abilities. Only one had to survive, and Joshua, a former marketing consultant, was willing to do everything to be that one, and that included stabbing Sam. He fled the scene before Dean could even react by shooting him dead. Sam later told him the man had the ability to light fire with his thoughts and sometimes using his hands.

"Boy, you doin' okay?" Bobby caught Dean by surprise, so much so that Dean nearly tipped over his bottle of beer. Bobby took the action as a silent 'no'. "I get why you did what you did, I really do. But you're still an idjit."

Dean looked down, his hands firmly wrapped round the bottle's neck. "I know Bobby. But I... I felt like I had to, you know? Sammy deserves to live."

"And you don't?"

Dean took a swig and changed the subject a little bit, trying to favour his situation. "He'll have a chance to live a normal life. You know, get married, have kids."

"Like I already said son, I knew why you sold your soul." Bobby patted his shoulder. "I called someone who can help us with your situation."

Dean's head shot up angrily. "You told others about my selling my soul?" He snorted, shaking his head. "Gee, thanks Bobby. What happened to the whole 'never trust anyone' policy huh?"

"This person happens to be the wisest hunter out there, knows all the lore. They could help you with the deal. You know, find some kind of loop hole."

Dean stood up, having finished his drink. "Look, I appreciate you trying to help and all. Call this guy and tell him not to come."

Bobby averted his eyes. Dean didn't like that look one bit. "Um, actually..."

"Actually what, Bobby?" Dean pressed on. Bobby stared back at Dean, but before he could open his mouth, the sound of a battered '65 Ford Transit and blasting music—Joan Jett and the Blackhearts—filled the background. "Is that... is that him?"

Dean ran to the front door, not even bothering to let Bobby reply, who ran after him. Dean opened the door and froze. No way in hell. Not her!

"You!" He exclaimed coldly. The girl rolled her eyes, smiling sardonically.

"Now, now, Winchester. Let's not get too excited there." She snapped, pushing him aside as she entered the house. Bobby stood there, mouth open. Obviously, this was his first encounter with Carly as his daughter, not Carly as his hunting partner. "Hey, daddy."

Dean closed the door. "Daddy?" What the fuck was going on here? Bobby has a kid? Since when? And why did it have to be that... that bitch?!

Bobby swallowed and laughed nervously. "Uh, Dean. Heh, funny story..." Dean gave him a look which said 'It's not' and crossed his broad arms across his chest. "Turns out Carly's my long-lost daughter."

"I'm more of a love child than a daughter." She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "Okay, let's get down to business." She rubbed her hands together. She had been itching for a hunt this excited for months. "Who's the dumbass that sold their soul?" Silence. By then, Sam had made his way to the living room, having heard the love-child proclamation from the den. She stared at each man standing before her, her eyes lingering over Dean longer than the others. She could see it in his eyes, like a silent yet at the same time very loud confession. "How long?"

Her sarcasm from before had been lifted from her body like a successful exorcism on a demon, replaced by disappointment. Well, so thought Dean and Bobby.

"A year." Carly snorted, looking away. She smiled, hiding the sadness that clouded her. Despite her past with the kid, she felt sorry for him. Him, and most of all, his brother Sam. "Well, a week less than that now." Dean smirked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Not helping." Sam uttered through gritted teeth. Carly said nothing. She simply kept glaring at Dean, and Dean felt as if she was killing him slowly with her eyes.

"You're an idiot." She pointed out, laughing sarcastically. "Wow, even after all this time, you're still a jerk." And with that, she walked out the back door, slamming it behind her. Sam winced.

"You two worked a case together in the past?" Bobby asked. He had the father tone etched in his voice. He really didn't want his daughter sleeping around, especially with Dean.

Dean felt the tension rising rapidly, so he decided to tell him the truth... "Yeah. Before I went to Stanford to get Sammy." … which was only the smallest part of the whole truth. In fact, he and Carly worked on cases together for a whole month, which was also how long they slept together.

"Are you sure that's all?" This was the first time Sam spoke a word since arriving at Bobby's. "Because I have a feeling there's more to that."

"Yeah." Bobby shifted uncomfortably form one foot to the other, stroking his bearded chin. "And I have a feelin' I won't like the rest."

Dean took a deep breath. "I'm gonna go talk to her." He walked past Bobby and Sam and over to the back door. He found the slender, chestnut-haired girl inside her van. She had her arms crossed tightly across her chest, and she was chewing on her lower lip with frustration. He walked over to the driver's side and knocked gently on the window. She turned her head and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not talking to you." Carly said, her voice rising an octave to prove a point and stand her ground.

Dean chuckled. "You just did, chuckles."

She huffed in response, and glared outside her window. "You think you're so smart, huh. I mean, I always knew you were a bit of a smartass. But selling your fucking soul?!"

"You don't know why—"

Carly interrupted him mid-sentence. "Of course I know! You did it for your brother, didn't you?" Silence. "One doesn't have to be smart to figure that out." Even more silence. Carly could see she hit home, so as an attempt to make the argument slightly more bearable, she rolled down the window, which made the loudest squeaking sound known to mankind.

Dean winced and closed his eyes. "Jesus, Carls! Ever heard of a thing called oil?!" He yelled. Dean really thought he'd gone deaf from the sound. "God!"

"Sorry, I'll get it fixed tonight." She replied. But she knew better: she'd been promising herself the same thing for over six months now, since her mother's death. "So, Bobby tells me Sam got stabbed."

If Dean from a few weeks ago could see him now, blurting out his life story to some chick from his past. He'd probably hang himself, right after slapping some sense in himself. But he had to trust her; she could be his only hope in getting out of the deal. He may have joked about it with Sam and Bobby, laughing and shrugging the whole deal off, but he was scared as hell.

So he told her: about the demon that killed his mom, Jessica, Sam's visions, Meg, John's death... Everything poured out of Dean's mouth so naturally, even Carly was surprised at how much he trusted her at this point. She recalled how in the past, Dean spent the first couple of days in their short-lived relationship under a fake identity before he told her who he was and what he did for a living.

Surprisingly enough, she found herself listening to the poor guy's story... Not that she had a choice: he was leaning against her side of the car, otherwise she would have bolted off there and then if she knew what a sob story this would turn out to be. Or so she thought. Carly was genuinely interested in Dean's stories. It helped her understand who the fuck he really was, what he did, and why. On several occasions she couldn't help but gasp, which she thought was rather girly and new for her. How dare she glorify Dean, make him seem like some kind of hero?

Then it sank in: he _was_ a hero. Just like her, he killed monsters and saved people's lives, most of the time risking his life for others. That... and she still was infatuated by him.

'Stupid good looks. Stupid sexy smile. Stupid charm!' she thought, and nearly sighed with relief when Dean finished his tell-all memoir.

"So, uh, Coop..." That nickname. Those pleading eyes. Carly stared ahead furiously, begging herself not to fall for any of his intentions. "What's your plan?"

Carly frowned. "Well, it's obvious. We kill every single son of a gun in our way for a whole year."

"No, I mean about my deal." Dean retorted. After a brief pause, he looked at her angrily. "You _do_ have a plan, right?"

"Dean..." She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, gripping the steering wheel with the other hand so tightly her knuckles turned white. Dean swallowed a lump in his throat. This wasn't a good sign. "The only way for a deal to be broken is for someone else to take your place."

"Sam tried." Dean shrugged, letting his hands hit his sides as he put his arms down. "Nothing. Apparently Hell wants me down there."

Carly bit the inside of her cheek, averting her eyes. She opened her door and stepped out of her truck. "I'll do it."

Dean shook his head frantically. Was she being serious? "You're joking right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking? Dean, I'm nobody in the hunting world!" She yelled. "I have nobody. You have Sam and Bobby."

"Bobby won't allow you!" He yelled back, grabbing her arm before she could rush back inside.

"He's not the boss of me." She replied in her end-of-discussion tone. Looking down at his hand gripping her elbow, she murmured, "Um, can you let go of me?"

Dean reluctantly let go of her arm. "I still think this isn't a good idea." He pointed out as she re-entered her truck. "At least let me come with you."

Carly gave him a half-smile. "I'd rather do it by myself. I've got some things I don't want to share with you just yet." Dean raised an eyebrow. "It means I'm gonna use these secrets to get you out of that deal."

"What secrets?" Dean asked, but all he got in return was a small weak smile from Carly, who started her van. Dean closed his eyes and winced at the piercing sound of the battered engine and booming Foreigner song. "That engine—"

"Needs fixin', I know. I'll get it done tonight."

Yet another broken promise. And both of them knew it.

"Hey."

"What, Dean?"

Dean looked her in the eye. "Be careful."

"Yeah." And with that, she drove off, leaving a trail of dust behind her. Dean sighed and went back inside.

"Where's Carly?" Sam asked. The look Dean gave his brother was enough an answer. "And you didn't try to stop her?!" Dean said nothing in return and walked into the den, where he helped himself with some whiskey.

"What's wrong?" Bobby asked as he walked into the den. He sat down on the couch, where a stack of books stood next to him. "Where's Carly?"

"She went to a crossroads' demon." Sam replied for Dean. Bobby's eyes widened. "And Dean didn't stop her."

Bobby's nostrils flared with anger. How could Dean do something like this?! Especially to Bobby's own _daughter_!

"Are you out of your damn mind, boy?!" Bobby yelled, jumping up from his seat and grabbing Dean from his shirt.

"Whoa, Bobby!" Sam intervened.

"Look, I tried stopping her okay!" Dean yelled, both angry and scared of the man. "But she wanted to give it a try anyway. You think I'm happy about this? You think I want some innocent chick to die sacrificing her soul for me?!"

Bobby let go of Dean. "I just—She's my daughter. I don't know her well."

"Bobby, we won't let anything happen to her. We promise." Sam insisted.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Dean asked impatiently after a minute of silence.

"We wait."

The silence that clouded the house became unbearable first to Bobby, who after two hours of sitting around, got up, pushing his chair backwards, nearly knocking it down. Sam looked up from the book eh was reading, _Dr Faustus_, while Dean continued drinking his whiskey.

"It's been two goddamn hours. Now if you wanna sit around and wait for her, I won't." Bobby yelled.

"Maybe she's exorcising the demon." Sam suggested, trying to think positively of the situation. It didn't sit well with Dean either.

"Seriously, Sammy. That's the best thing you can think of?" Dean rolled his eyes and circled the rim of his glass with a finger. Sam shrugged innocently.

"I'm not the one who didn't try harder to stop her."

Resisting the urge to punch his little brother in the nose, Dean pointed out, "Not my fault she's a stubborn one." Smirking, Dean turned and looked over at Bobby, who was leaving her yet another voicemail. "She sure is your daughter, Bobby."

Bobby made a mimicking face at Dean and put his phone down. "Damn it, she's not pickin' up. Five more minutes and I'm goin' after her."

"We don't know which crossroads she's at." Sam replied.

"Probably the closest one to here." Dean contemplated. From afar, the sound of a battered engine was getting closer. Bobby sighed with relief. "Oh thank god." Dean murmured, getting up.

Sam got up and looked out the window, seeing the beat-up Transit coming to a halt.

Carly switched off the headlights and looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror. She poked her bruised cheekbone and winced. Bobby and Dean were going to kill her. Clutching her left side, she grabbed her keys and stepped out of the van. As soon as she did, Bobby, Sam and Dean rushed out of the house.

"Carly, are you okay?" Bobby frantically asked her.

At the same time, Dean asked, "How did the deal go?"

Carly winced. "One girl, one mouth, one question at a time."

Sam stifled a chuckle. He liked how straightforward she was for a girl her size. She really _was_ Bobby's child.

"Mine first." Bobby jumped in. "I'm your father after all."

"I'm fine." Thank god it was too dark to see the severity of her bruised cheek. "Just got hit a little badly by the demon. I thought the guy wouldn't hit me because I was a girl." She hissed as she slowly walked back to the house, followed by the other men. "Boy was I wrong."

"So...? The deal?" Dean asked. Carly stopped, her hand pressed to the door.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." she softly changed subject and went in. Dean gulped, knowing from her tone that nothing changed. He was still going to die. Sam patted his brother's shoulder.

"Hey we'll find a way. We have a whole year." Sam smiled, but deep down, even he doubted there could be a solution.

Bobby went up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door. "Carls, I prepared a room for ya." No reply. "Whenever you feel hungry, I have some mac and cheese, okay?" Once more, Bobby received no reply, so he simply walked away. On his way down to his den, he passed by Dean.

"How is she?" Dean asked. Bobby shrugged, his eyes clouded with sadness.

"She didn't talk to me. I think she might be hiding something." Bobby sighed. "I'll give 'er some space. Maybe talk to her before she goes to bed."

Bobby went down and Dean ran up the stairs to the bathroom. He knocked loudly, which gave Carly, who was sitting on an old, little stool, a fright. "Coop, talk to me." Not even giving her a chance to do so, he turned the knob. Just as he suspected: locked. Three even louder knocks. "Carls, open the damn door."

"Dean, I want to be alone right now." came the reply. She sounded like she was crying, which frustrated Dean even further. She looked at the bleeding scar on her side. Carly was becoming impatient of not being able to stitch the stupid scar properly. She needed Dean's help. Great. Carly exhaled. "Fine, just one second." She pulled down her tshirt and stood up to open the door, but paused before doing so. She opened the door just a crack. "Promise me you won't tell Bobby." She looked up at him. "The last thing I need is for him to worry about me."

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

Carly stood aside to let Dean into the bathroom, her back at him.

"The demon told me nothing can be done about your deal. Hell wants you down there for some reason. And there is no other loophole that I know of."

"It's okay, Coop. We have a whole year to figure it out." Carly turned around. Dean sighed when he saw her bruised cheekbone. "Oh Carly, what have you done to yourself?"

Dean walked up to her and gently brushed his fingers over her cheekbone, causing her to wince. "That's what you get for attempting to save a Winchester's ass." she joked to lighten up the mood. Dean let out the slightest chuckle. She frowned when Dean's expression softened as he kept staring at the bruise. "I've had worse than that you know."

Awkward silence filled the tiny room. For the first time in many years, Carly and Dean were alone. She could share things with him, and he with her. She could have told him she's sorry for breaking the Impala's windshield when she saw him kissing that blonde girl in the bar. And he could have apologised for nearly shooting her the first night they met (Thank god John was here, because with the fright she'd have given Dean that night he wouldn't have slept for weeks).

But their stubborn, emotionless characters would never allow that.

"I got shot about two years ago." Carly rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Wrong place at the wrong time." She explained. "And I was rushed to the hospital and, uh... I died for like, a minute or two." Dean's eyes opened wide. "Next thing I know, I had no entry/exit wound. And I didn't suffer any blood loss. Like I was never shot."

"And you're telling me this... why?"

"Means I know what it's like to die."

Dean smirked. "Were you in heaven or somethin' during that time? Did you shake hands with God or high-fived Jesus?"

Carly chuckled and gave Dean a friendly, gentle punch on the shoulder. "No. It was as if I was asleep. You'll be going into a deep sleep for eternity."

Dean made a face. "I don't want it to happen." Pause. His eyes stopped on her left side, which had a large spot of blood on the shirt. "What's that?"

Carly looked down and sighed. "Shit. I stitched it twice and yet I can't seem to close the damned wound!"

"I'll do it for you." Dean offered. It almost hurt seeing her bleed like that, even if it wasn't a fatal wound. As he took out a needle and gauze, he asked her, "Demon did that to you?"

"Not exactly." she replied. Dean sat down at the edge of the bathtub, while Carly sat on the stool next to him. "He pushed me while I was kicking his ass and I landed on some huge, pointy rock." Her gaze shifted to a piece of cloth covered with dirt and spots of blood on it.

"Good, good..." He gulped, looking at her shirt. "I, um... I need you to..." His gaze remained fixed to her side. Carly frowned but rolled her eyes when she realised what he meant.

He wanted her to take her shirt off.

"Jesus, Dean. It's not like you've never seen me with no shirt on! God!" She scoffed and slowly unbuttoned it, letting it fall on the floor. She mentally thanked her past self for putting on a camisole underneath the shirt. Instead of removing it too, she simply lifted it up to her chest, holding it up with her right arm.

"Shit, that' thing's nasty!" Dean exclaimed with a grimace.

Carly didn't sass him or deny it. One look at it when she went to the bathroom for the first time nearly made her physically sick to the stomach. It was a nasty scar, with an even nastier purple and yellowish bruise surrounding it.

She handed him the antiseptic. He opened it. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch, so I advise you to drink some whiskey or bite onto something."

"Your face hurts like a bitch." She snapped. "Now quit chatting and stitch the damn wound already!"

Dean immediately became sombre and nodded, needle at the ready. He cleared his throat as he scooted closer to her. From the pocket of his leather jacket, which he took off and put next to him, he took out a bottle of Jack.

"Here." He handed the bottle to Carly, who glanced blankly at the bottle which was then in her possession. "Take a swig whenever you feel the pain. It'll help."

She unscrewed the tap, took a sip and smiled at Dean. "Have I told you about the time I got shot?" Dean nodded. Her smile disappeared, an exasperated look replacing it. "I got stabbed three times, once before and twice after. And I was also thrown off a moving vehicle. I can deal well with pain. All I have to do is stare at the wall and I won't feel a thing."

"Okay, fine." Dean put the bottle back in the pocket and started stitching her side. Carly was being honest with Dean when she said she dealt well with pain. She'd hiss a few times when the needle felt cold against her flesh wound, but otherwise, she never screamed or winced.

Nothing hurt Carly anymore: not getting shot, tabbed or thrown out of a moving car...

… except being heartbroken by Dean Winchester.

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**Hope you liked this chapter! I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. Just a small warning: since some chapter will be based on the episodes, they will be WAAAY longer than this one. So now you know!**

**You know the drill!... If you want more leave a review/favourite or whatever floats your ships because reviews give me motivation :)**

_**reviews = high chance of a new chapter :3**_


	3. Chapter 2 - The Magnificent Seven

**Finally, chapter two is done! I'm sorry it took so long, but since I didn't receive any feedback, so I took it as a sign to take my time? Anyways, I apologise if any of the actions are inaccurate, but I had no Internet to watch the episode, so I just pictured what they'd do.**

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING THAT IS IN ANY WAY FEATURED ON THE SHOW!**

**Read on, assbutts ;)**

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Chapter Two – The Magnificent 7.

_**One Week Later**_

Sam sat in the Impala reading _Dr. Faustus_. He looked up to see Dean inside the house across him, wearing only an undershirt. Dean grinned and gave his younger brother a double-thumbs up, at which Sam simply shook his head, smiling fondly. Dean deserved it; after all, he _did_ have just a little under a year left to live. An attractive girl walked into the room, and Dean drew the curtains shut. Sam frowned when he saw them undressing each other in silhouette. When his phone rang, and saw Carly's name on the screen, he smiled with relief and flipped the phone open.

"Hello."

On the other end, Carly was on her way to Chicago, where a potential case was located. She drove slowly, Bryan Adams playing softly in the background, who was muffled by the sound of the Transit's battered engine.

"Hey, Sam. It's Cooper." Of course it was, all he had to do was hear the battered engine and the sound of gum being chewed and popped. That was who she was.

"Oh, Carls. Hey."

Carly smiled. Sam was by far the nicest guy she'd ever met. He called her by her name, always asked how she was, how her day went... she liked that about him. And what she liked the most was the fact that he never tried hitting on her. It made her feel like an actual female human, not a prize ready to be laid.

"What're you doing?" she asked. Not that she was interested, just small-talking her way into telling him about the case.

"Oh, same old, same old."

Carly sighed impatiently. "You're reading that damn book again are you?" Sam shut his eyes and sunk into his seat. Caught. He couldn't believe how Carly could read Sam like an open book even over the phone. She didn't wait for Sam to reply: she knew she was right. "Sam, you want to break your brother free from that demon deal, you ain't gonna find the answer in no book."

She is spending way too much time with Bobby, Sam thought, smiling fondly. Who would say 'ain't' if not Bobby?

His daughter.

"Then where?" Sam asked softly, closing the book.

Carly paused. The Bryan Adams CD playing in the background came to an end. She took it out and put it in its case, replacing the background music with some harder music: Black Sabbath.

"I wish I knew." Silence. "Hey, we'll figure something out, okay? I'm not giving up just yet." More silence. "So where's the brother in subject?"

Without missing a beat, Sam replied, "Polling the electorate."

"You mean he's having sex with someone." All that came as a reply was a small breeze. Carly's grip to the steering wheel hardened, her knuckles turning white. But of course sex was meaningless for Dean! Why would the two times they slept together in the past week matter to him and her? It was just sex. Just hardcore, perfect, magical— "Well, you boys better pack it up. I think I finally found something."

"A case?"

"No, a society where all men are degraded and objectified." Sam chuckled and got out of the car. If there was one thing he liked the most about Carly was her sarcastic sass. It made him laugh... and Dean want to hit her in the face. "Of course it's a case, Sam! I swear on Lars Ulrich's body and soul that you do this on purpose."

"Stay on the line. I'll get Dean in a sec." Sam told her. Once inside the house, he knocked on the bedroom door and opened it slowly. On the phone, Carly heard Sam say, "Dean?" Sound of footsteps rang the phone, indicating Sam had entered the bedroom. Carly wanted to hit Sam so badly. How could he enter the room when his brother was in there naked? "Dean, you-you conscious?"

"Jesus fucking Christ." Carly murmured on the other end.

"Carly called, and she thinks that maybe we—" Sam froze in horror. "Oh God." He immediately hung up, and Carly snorted.

"Idgit." she muttered, shaking her head as she tossed her phone in the glove compartment.

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_**Just Outside Lincoln, Nebraska**_

Carly was sat on her van, peacefully eating her fruit salad. Outside, the air was filled with the sound of cicadas. She could also hear Sam and Dean talking about the cicadas.

"Hear those cicadas?" Sam asked his brother.

"That can't be a good sign." Dean replied, munching onto a hamburger.

"No. No, it can't." Carly looked up and smiled at Sam. "Morning, Carls."

"Morning, Sam!" She smiled broadly, and then turned to glare at Dean, smiling sourly. "So we're eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?"

Dean gave her an equally cold glare. "Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol."

Carly finally had enough of Dean's nonchalance towards death. "Must you rub your death in any more than you already do?! We get it: you're gonna die. But not on my watch. I'm gonna get you out of that deal even if it's the last thing I'll ever do!" She yelled, near tears. The brothers blinked. They have never seen anyone so angry about something they have no control over. Especially someone from Dean's sexual past.

Sam cleared his throat. The tension that filled the air could be cut with a toothpick. "So, Carly, what do you think? We got a biblical plague here or what?"

"Well, let's find out." Carly took out her iPad and tapped on it, revealing a meteorological-like program, showing a sophisticated forecast. Carly pursed her lips. "Looks like the swarm's ground zero."

Once at the front door, Dean pounded on the farmhouse front door, yelling, "Candygram!" Carly rolled her eyes and gently pushed Dean aside. "What're you doing?" he asked her as she rummaged through her jacket's pockets, taking out an uncoiled paper clip.

"What's it look like?" she snapped, her back at him. Dean gave Sam an 'I'm going to kill her' look, and Sam gave him a 'Not now' glare. "I'm picking the lock."

"With a paper clip?" Dean scoffed out a laugh, but immediately shut up when she pushed the door open, giving him a triumphant look. He cleared his throat. "Let's just go in."

Sam drew out his gun from his pocket, and Carly drew out her Glock-17 from the back of her jeans. "You have a Glock?" Sam asked. He was impressed to say the least, he'd never seen a hunter carrying one before, especially a girl.

"Sweet 16 birthday present form one of my mum's cop boyfriends." She pointed out. Dean gave her a one-over, realising how sexy she actually was before taking out her gun, let alone holding one… a freaking Glock! Carly raised an eyebrow. "What, Dean?"

"Nothing!" he replied almost immediately. "Just, uh… You look… um… hot. You know, holding a Glock." Carly's eyebrows remained raised. She hoped he wasn't kidding around for the sake of her sanity. "Very Lara Croft."

"Keep it in your pants for the day, Winchester. We're on a case right now!" she snapped angrily as Sam walked past them. Dean shook his head and was about to walk past her, when she pulled him back from his elbow. "If you promise me you won't sleep with any other woman except me, I'll show you some moves I learnt in my yoga course."

She leaned in, and Dean thought she was going to kiss him, so he smirked and closed his eyes, leaning in too. However, Carly had different plans. "Not tonight, princess." She whispered, her breathe smelling like mints and tobacco. Dean inhaled from his nose, immediately turned on by her husky tone.

"Uh, guys…" Sam called from inside. He sounded like he was about to gag, so the other two went inside to check what was the matter. Carly groaned loudly, her face turning very pale. Both Dean and Sam covered their noses in disgust.

"That so can't be a good sign." Dean groaned.

"Jesus Christ what lives here, gym socks and sewer rats?!" Carly moaned, now covering her nose with her free hand. "Ugh!"

The three hunters crept through the house, with Carly entering the room next to the front door and the two brothers walking up ahead. When they stopped in the second room, they heard what sounded like panicked screams coming from a woman.

"You hear that?" Sam murmured, stopping. Dean nodded and stared pointedly at the door of the room from which the screams came from. They kicked the door down. The screams turned out to be coming from the television set. On the couch was a family of three seated, several days dead. Sam and Dean recoiled at the increased stench. Dean groaned loudly, turning his face away.

"Oh, my god." Sam gagged. They walked over to the side of the couch, when Carly entered the room through the other side of the room. She recoiled in horror, her nose wrinkled.

"Fuck." She whispered, her mouth barely open, fearing the horrendous stench would enter her mouth.

"Carls, what the hell happened here?" Sam asked in horror, gun still pointed ahead.

"Damned if I knew." She replied, walking closer to the couch, gun still in head.

"Check for sulphur." Dean ordered

"Yeah." Carly breathed out, and the three started investigating the room. Dean heard a noise out front and signalled the others that he was going to check it out. Carly and Sam circled around to the other direction.

Out front, Dean exited cautiously, gun drawn, and looked around him. As he cam around the house, he was knocked to the ground by a man with a shotgun. A woman came up behind him. Carly and Sam came out of the house from the other side.

"Isaac? Tamara?"

"Carly!" Tamara grinned. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same." Carly smiled, placing her Glock back inside the back of her jeans. Sam simply lowered his gun.

"Heya Carly." Isaac greeted her.

Dean raised an arm pitifully from the ground. "Hello. Bleeding here."

* * *

_**Isaac and Tamara's - Evening**_

While Dean was on the phone, in the next room, Isaac was looking for something. Sam was looking around the room and Carly was sat on an empty counter.

"Honey? Where's the Palo Santo?" Isaac asked.

"Well, where'd you leave them?" Tamara replied with a question.

Isaac rolled his eyes, thankfully he had his back facing his wife. "I don't know, dear. That's why I'm asking you."

"Palo Santo?" Sam repeated.

"It's holy wood, from Peru." Tamara explained as she walked over to a bag that was sitting on a table. "It's toxic to demons like holy water keeps the bastards nailed down while you're exorcising them."

She dug up in a bag and pulled out a large, pointed stake. She handed it to her husband with an affectionate smile. Isaac let out an embarrassed smile.

"Thank you, dear."

"You'd lose your head if it wasn't for me." she chuckled.

"So, how long you two been married?" Sam asked, smiling at the bickering couple.

Looking at her husband with a sparkle in her eye, she replied, "Eight years this past June."

"The family that slays together..." he half-joked.

Sam chuckled. "Right, I'm with you there. So, how'd you get started." Isaac and Tamara averted their eyes, an awkward silence filling the room. Carly glared at Sam, mentally scolding him for asking such a question. But how was he to know? "Oh, you know... I'm sorry. It's not—that's none of my business."

"It's—it's alright." Tamara replied, smiling weakly. Judging from her tone of voice, it was more than alright. Dean walked into the room, still on his phone.

"Well, Jenny, if you look as pretty as you sound, then I'd love to have an appletini." He made a face, which made Carly chortle. "Yeah. Call you." He hung up and addressed the group. "That was the coroner's tech."

"And?" Carly said, jumping off the counter top.

"Get this—that whole family, cause of death?" He looked from Carly to Sam, to the couple. "Dehydration and starvation. There's no sign of restraint, no violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got up."

"But there was a fully-stocked kitchen just yards away." Carly pointed out. She sighed. "This is ape-shit crazy."

"What is this, Carls, a demon attack?" Sam wondered. Carly simply shrugged.

"If it is, it's not like anything I ever saw, and despite my young age, I've seen plenty."

"Well, what now? What should we do?" Dean asked, addressing also Isaac and Tamara. Isaac frowned.

"Uh, _we're_..." He circled a finger, indicating everyone in the room "... not gonna do anything."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"You guys seem nice enough, but this ain't Scooby-Doo, and we don't play well with others."

"Well, I think we'd cover a lot more ground if we all worked together." Sam insisted. Dean nodded in agreement, while Carly crossed her arms.

Isaac glared at Sam. "No offence, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the Devil's Gate get opened in the first place."

"No offence?" Dean repeated sarcastically.

"Isaac, like you've never made a mistake." Tamara admonished.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Locked my keys in the car, turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world, though."

"Well what about the time you nearly shot me because you thought I was a demon huh?" Carly snapped. "Wasn't that a mistake too?!"

Carly took a step forward, ready to lunge onto Isaac and beat the crap out of him, regardless of his wife's presence, but Dean held her from the elbow, pulled her back and stepped between her and Isaac. "All right. That's enough."

"Guys." Sam intervened quietly. "This isn't helping. Dean—"

Isaac interrupted Sam. "Look, there are couple hundred more demons out there now. We don't know where they are, when they'll strike. There ain't enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought was down on us—on all of us."

Tamara placed a hand on Isaac's chest. "Okay, that's quite enough testosterone for now."

Carly smirked. "Yeah, Isaac. Listen to your wife once in your life." She kept smiling, while everyone gave her a look. She looked at everyone and shrugged. "What?"

* * *

_**Store - Day**_

The next morning, Sam watched as the policemen were taking forensic evidence at the murder scene. Then he walked inside the store, where Dean was chatting up a witness.

"What happened outside makes you realise how fragile life really is. You got to make every second count." he was telling her. Sam cleared her throat.

With an apologetic smile, Dean told her, "Excuse me a minute, would you."

"Sure." she replied, and left.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Comforting the bereaved." Dean replied, and Sam gave him the 'you're joking right?' look. "What are you doing?"

"Workin'. Dead body, possible demon attack—that kind of stuff." Sam dead-panned.

Dean coughed pathetically. "Sam, I'm sorry. It's just... I don't have much time left and... got to make every second count." He finished the sentence with a wink.

"Yeah, right. All right. Sorry." Sam chastened.

Dean smirked. "Apology accepted."

Carly walked into the store dressed in a figure-hugging pencil skirt, a white shirt with the first two buttons open—obviously done to show off her cleavage—and black high heels. Her hair was up in a tight ponytail. Dean and Sam's mouths opened ajar, impressed at how good she looked in court clothes. Dean was especially turned on by the outfit: 'very sexy librarian-esque' he'd describe it.

Sam raised his eyebrows, while Dean whistled and looked her from head to toe as she checked her make-up in the mirror behind the brothers.

"Woah, looking hot, Coop." Dean commented in a flirty tone. Sam scoffed and shook his head.

"Screw you, Dean." she sassed him through gritted teeth. Dean wasn't the first to be all predator on her; Carly must have had at least ten men looking at her like she was a prize ready to be won.

"What were you, a g-man?"

"Attorney for the D.A.'s office. I just spoke to the suspect." she explained, putting her navy blue blazer back on.

"Yeah? So what do you think? Is she possessed or what?" Sam asked. Carly smiled. Thank god Sam was Sam in situations like this.

"Don't think so. There's none of the usual signs—no blackouts, no loss of control. Totally lucid." Carly explained, ready to give up on the case. "Just... she really wanted those shoes. I also spilled a glass of holy water on her just to be sure." She shrugged. "Nothing."

"Maybe she's just some random whack job." Dean said, turning around to check the blonde girl that walked behind him. Sam braced himself for a Carly/Dean smack-down, but her eyes showed that she was considering that idea.

"If it _had_ been an isolated case, maybe. But first the family, and now this? I believe in a lot of things. Coincidence ain't one of them. Did you two find anything around here?"

"No sulphur, nothing." Sam replied, and sighed.

"Well, maybe something." Dean nodded to a security camera in the ceiling. Looking at his younger brother with a smirk, he added, "See? I'm working."

* * *

Up in the security room, Sam was seated in front of the multiple screens before him, while Dean and Carly hovered in the background. Carly was becoming impatient by the second of Dean's eyes constantly glued to her. She had to admit she loved the attention, but she knew Dean better than any girl he'd slept with (obviously, she's the only girl he slept with over three times), and she came to the conclusion that dean wanted to get in her pants by the end of the day.

Not gonna happen, brother, she thought with a grin.

"Anything interesting?" Dean asked, staring at the screen Sam was focused on for the first time since entering the room.

"I don't know yet. Might just be a guy..." Sam's voice trailed off as a redheaded man approached the blonde woman Carly had interrogated before. "Or it might be our guy."

* * *

_**Outside Bar - Night**_

Dean was going to kill his brother. Why did Sam insist on him and Carly staking out in the Transit? Why not the Impala? With Sam shotgun, and Carly out to find John Doe's identity. But no, Dean had to sit shotgun in the stupid—yet amazing-smelling—truck. The music wasn't helping either... Air Supply, psh, Dean thought, sighing for the millionth time as he crossed his arms and shifted in his seat to find a decent and comfortable position. Who listens to Air Supply while staking out?

Apparently, Carly Cooper.

"I hate this song." Dean finally admitted. Truth was, _All Out of Love_ was the only song he liked by them. One of his greatest guilty pleasures, along Bon Jovi and Asia. But why would Dean tell her?

"Well, tough." she snapped. After a few minutes of silence and two Carly yawns later, Dean started humming and mumbling a few lyrics. Carly smirked. "I thought you hated this song."

"It's been playing for the past fifteen minutes. It's stuck in my head now." he replied.

"Can I let you in on a little secret? Sam was the one who messed with my radio." Carly chuckled. "And he hid all my cassettes God knows where."

"Why?"

"Apparently, he thinks we're in denial." Carly rolled her eyes, and looked through her glove compartment, in hope of finding a cassette tape Sam might've missed. "Wow, Sam really wiped my truck clean."

"Need some help?" Dean offered.

"Nah, it's okay." she replied. "Hey, check under your seat. I sometimes throw cassettes around. Maybe there's something better than this crap."

Dean laughed. "Why do you have it in here then?" he asked as he ran his hands around and under his seat. His fingers touched a cassette box, and his face lit up. "I found something!" Carly leaned over to Dean's side excitedly, but it soon vanished when she saw the tape: Greatest Love Hits II. "Son of a bitch, Sam."

Carly groaned and sat back in her seat, focusing on the bar. "What time is it?"

Dean looked at his watch. "Seven past midnight."

"And you're sure this is the right place?"

"No." Dean admitted. "But I spent all day canvassing this stupid town with this guy's stupid mug..." He pulled out a piece of paper with a mug shot of John Doe. "...and supposedly, he drinks at this stupid bar."

"No bar is stupid if it's a bar, Dean." Carly pointed out with a wink.

After another moment of silence, Dean looked over at Carly, who was staring at the bar, sometimes jolting when a man entered or exited the bar, which made him smile. If she was a bit more... girly, and ate with her mouth shut, and stopped sassing every person that didn't do it her way, he'd ask her out on a date. Dean shuddered at the idea of Carly and him on a date. A _date_!

"Wanna make out?" Dean blurted out. Carly's head turned slowly to look at him. One eyebrow was raised, but she was smirking.

"We're staking out John Doe and you want to make out?" Carly asked, and then frowned. "Well, nothing much goin' on here, so." She shrugged. "Why not?" Carly leaned over Dean's seat, and he hers, and as their lips were about to touch, there was a loud pounding on the window. Both Dean and Carly jumped back, the latter hitting the horn with her elbow. "Fucking hell, Sam!" she yelled.

"That's not funny!" Dean shouted at the same time.

Sam grinned at their discomfort and opened the passenger door. Dean scooted over onto the fold-down seat.

"Yeah." Sam grinned, and then cleared his throat. Back to business. "Uh, all right, so—so, John Doe; name is Walter Rosen." Carly quickly took out her iPad to type down notes. "He's from Oak Park, just west of Chicago. Went missing a week ago."

"The night the Devil's Gate opened?" Dean asked.

"Yeah."

"So you think he's possessed?" Carly asked, switching off her iPad and putting it in its case.

"It's a good bet. So, what, he just walks up to someone, touches them, and they go stark raving psycho?"

Carly cringed at Sam's vocabulary. It's usually Dean who talked that way.

"Those demons that got out at the gate—they're gonna do all kinds of things we haven't seen yet." she explained.

"You mean the demons _we_ let out?" Sam half-joked, pointing a finger between him and Dean.

Dean hushed them when he saw something. "Guys." A redheaded man got out of his car and made is way to the bar. Looking over at Sam and then Carly, he said, "All right. Show time."

"Wait a minute." Carly cut in, raising her hand.

"What?" Dean asked impatiently.

""What did I just say? We don't know what to expect out of this guy." she replied. "We should tail him until we know for sure."

Dean huffed. "Oh, so he kills someone and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?"

Carly turned, giving Dean dagger eyes. "We're no good dead! And we're not gonna make a move until we what what the score is."

before Dean could sass her, Sam pointed out, "Hey, Carls, I don't think that's an option."

"Well, why the fuck not?" Carly was starting to regret ever hunting with Sam and Dean. She liked Sam, he was nice and all, but if it had to come to a tug-o-war, he'd definitely take his brother's side. And she was always used to doing it her own way, so having two more opinions made her uneasy and angry.

Sam nodded, indicating another car that had just entered the lot. Isaac and Tamara got out and headed towards the bar.

"Ah, son of bitch!" Carly groaned, furiously slamming her hands against the steering wheel.

* * *

"Coop, you stay in the van." Dean ordered. He and Sam ran for the bar, only to find the door closed. They tried everything they could to knock it down, but nothing worked. From inside the van, Carly could hear Isaac shouting and Tamara screaming. She grew worried, raising a hand to her mouth, chewing on her fingernails. This was something she never did.

"Dean, there's something we haven't tried yet." she said. Her voice was panicked, but not as much as the look on Dean's face. "This will hurt my heart for the rest of eternity, but... I think the truck can get us through."

Dean glanced over at Sam, who nodded and rode on the fold-down seat, with Dean shotgun.

"Be careful." Sam told her, earning a weak smile from the girl. She sighed and looked down at the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry for this, Buck Dharma." she whispered, referring to her truck, and started the engine With a screech of tires, her truck busted through the front door of the bar. Dean, Sam and Carly got out, armed with holy water, which they flung violently into the crowd of demons. They backed up and Sam grabbed Tamara, who was still screaming frantically for Isaac.

"Come on, we gotta go!" Sam screamed. This didn't stop her from crying at the top of her lungs. Carly's heart broke at the sight of the helpless woman. "He's dead! Get in the truck."

"Sammy, why don't you and Tamara take her car? I'll wait for Dean." Carly insisted, seeing Dean still immersed in the fight. "Dean, come on!"

Sam joined in the fight, in combat with John Doe. Tamara rushed to the car, stopping it just behind Carly's Transit, engine on. With a push of a button, the trunk door elevated. Sam grabbed the redheaded from his jacket, leaving Dean with Carly. The two ran into the truck, and Carly frantically started the engine, making the most horrendous, loudest noise ever. Dean winced loudly, earning an apologetic smirk in return.

Sam opened Tamara's trunk wide open, and John Doe grinned just as Sam ran out of holy water. Sam, being much taller than the demon, overpowered him and stuffed him in the trunk, which was inscribed with a Devil's trap. The demon screamed and Sam closed the trunk and gestured Tamara to step into the passenger seat, as she was not in a decent position to drive. She silently agreed, and Carly whistled, catching her and Sam's attention.

"All secure?" He nodded. "Good, see you at Tam's." With that, she drove off, with Sam tailing behind. Not looking at Dean, she asked, "You okay?"

"Nothing fatal." he half-joked.

"Jerk." she mumbled out of earshot.

* * *

_**Isaac and Tamara's - Night**_

The red-haired demon was tied to a chair under a Devil's trap painted on the ceiling. In the next room, an argument was ongoing.

"I say we're going back—now!" Tamara insisted, her voice thick and shaky.

"Hold don a second." Sam softly insisted, putting a hand on her shoulder, which she shrugged off within milliseconds.

"I left my husband _bloody_ on the floor!" she snapped.

Turning into puppy-dog-eyes mode, Sam told her, "Okay, I understand that, but we can't go back."

"Fine. Then you stay. But I'm heading back to the bar."

"I'll go with her." Dean stood up, already putting on her leather jacket.

"You're kidding me right?" Carly groaned, rolling his eyes.

"It's suicide, Dean!" Sam snapped.

"So what? I'm dead already!" he napped back.

"Shut the hell up, Dean!" Carly intervened, arms crossed across her chest, sitting down. "How you gonna kill 'em? Huh? Can't shoot 'em. You can't stab 'em. They're not just gonna wait in line to get exorcised.

"I don't care!" Tamara cried.

"We don't even know how many of them there are!" Sam pointed out. Puppy-dog eyes went up the roof and gone into thin air.

"Yeah we do." Carly stood up. "There's seven. Do you have any idea who we're up against?" She couldn't believe she never thought of this sooner. It was right in front of her!

"No. who?"

Carly grinned, showing her pearly whites, her eyes wide with astonishment. "The seven deadly sins, live and in the flesh!"

Dean paused and grinned. "What's in the box?!" Carly raised an eyebrow, the room filled with an awkward silence. "Brad Pitt? 'Se7en'? No?" Carly tossed him a book. "What's this?"

"'Binsfeld's Classification of Demons'. In 1589, Binsfeld ID'd the seven sins—not just as human vices, but as _actual_ demons." Carly squealed. "Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Did you hit your head or something?" Tamara wanted to know.

Putting on his thinking face, Sam asked, "The family—they were touched by Sloth. And the shopper..."

"That's Envy's doing" Carly finished for him. "The customer we got in the next room. I couldn't suss it out at first, but Isaac." At the mention of his name, Tamara's head shot up. Carly sighed and bit her lower lip. "He was touched with an awful Gluttony."

"I don't give a rat's ass if they're The Three Stooges or the Four Tops!" Tamara snapped. "I'm gonna slaughter every last one of them!"

Carly rolled her eyes. "We already did it your way, Tam. You burst in there half-cocked and look what happened!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. "These demons haven't been topside in half a millenium" we're talking medieval... dark ages! We've never faced anything close to this!" Dean backed away, seeing her face red with anger. Sam's eyes rolled from a very upset Tamara to a very pissed off Carly. "So we are gonna take a breath... AND FIGURE OUT WHAT OUT NEXT MOVE IS!" Tamara flinched, and so did the Winchesters. From a pint-sized hunter, this was totally unexpected. After taking several deep breaths, Carly calmed down. "I am sorry for your loss.

* * *

_**Demon-Holding Room**_

"So you know who I am, huh?" Envy chuckled. Carly placed her hands on her hips.

"We do. We're not impressed." she replied bluntly.

"Why are you here? What are you after?" Sam asked.

When the demon took long to reply, Dean intervened. "He asked you a question. What do you want?"

Envy chuckled condescendingly. Dean opened the flask of holy water and splashed him, making him hiss and shriek in pain.

"Ya! Ohh!" Envy paned heavily. "We already have what we want."

"What's that?" Dean snapped.

"We're out. We're free. Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere. I am legion, for we are many. So me, I'm just celebrating." He smirked, looking at each one of them. "Having a little fun."

"Fun?" Sam repeated with disgust.

"Yeah. Fun. See, some people crochet. Other golf. Me? I like to see people's insides... on their outside."

Tamara shook her head, glaring at him. "I'm gonna put you down like a dog." she spat.

Envy snorted. "Please." he laughed. "You really think you're better me." His laugh deepened. "Which one of you can cast the first stone, huh? What about you, Dean?" He looked at him. "You're practically a walking billboard of gluttony and lust." He winked suggestively at Carly, who felt the urge to spit in his face. "Carly, Carly Carly. All that wrath. Ooh, tsk, tsk, tsk. It's the reason why you became a hunter at just fifteen, isn't it? It's so much easier to drink in the rage than to face what really happened all those years ago."

Dean looked at her. What was the demon talking about?

"Oh, that's it, you're going down, you sick piece of shit!" Carly cried, face twisted in anger as she ran up to him and smacked him hard until Dean and Sam pulled her back.

"Aah!" he breathed, his jaw hurting. "Whew!" he laughed. "My point exactly. And you call us sins. We're not sins, man.. we are natural human instinct. And you can repress and deny us all you want, but the truth is, you are just animals. Horny... greedy... hungry... violent animals. And you know what? You'll be slaughtered like animals, too. The others—they're coming for me."

"Maybe." Dean said. "But they're not gonna find you... 'cause you'll be in hell. Someone send this clown packing."

He glanced over at Carly, who had tears in her eyes. She shook head head and went out of the room. Tamara stepped up, book in hand.

"My pleasure." she dead-panned, ad began reading. "Exorcizamus te, Omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica..."

As she continued, Sam and Dean left and Envy screamed at the top of his lungs as he was exorcised.

* * *

_**Next room**_

"Hey, you okay?" Dean asked Carly. She looked up from the floor, giving him a stern look.

"Fuck off, Dean. I'm not in the mood to talk right now." She snapped, getting up and about to walk in the next room, but Dean stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "Let go of me!"

"No, not until you tell me what Envy was talking about."

She looked at him. "I don't want to have this conversation with your brother and Tam in the next room. Or, well, ever."

"What happened when you turned fifteen, Coop?" His voice was soft and curious. "You were normal... and you chose to become a hunter?"

Carly took a deep breath and managed to release herself form Dean's grasp, sitting back down on the chair. Dean sat down next to her on the table. She couldn't believe she was about to do the care-and-share game with Dean. He was the last person she wanted to talk to. "Growing without a dad was a bitch. I thought he was some ass who slept with mom and tossed her aside... and then my mom started dating all these... hunters... and I was so fascinated by their work, I learnt every lore and piece of info I could get my hands on. When I turned fifteen, my mom's boyfriend at the time decided to take me with him." She laughed humourlessly, shaking her head. "Mom let me. Bad move."

"What happened?"

She glared at him. "You're in a cheap-ass motel miles away from hole. You have needs. You can't leave a fifteen-year old alone. Next bar was about an hour away. Do the math."

"He... he raped you?" Silence. "That... that piece of shit!"

"Him and my mom's other boyfriends. I'm a whore. A hunters' whore."

"Hey, you listen to me, Coop." She looked at him, tears in her eyes, and could see the anger in his eyes. "What happened, happened. You're not that girl anymore."

"I was called incapable because I was a girl." she told him, her voice shaking. "And I was the one giving them every piece of information. _Me_!"

As she cried, Dean pulled her up and hugged her tightly. So that's why she was angry he walked but on her whenever they had sex. Because she was always tossed around by hunters.

"I'm sorry, baby." he whispered, rubbing her back in circles, soothing her. She pulled away slightly, and he slowly leaned in, but she turned her head. "Please, Carls..."

"We can't Dean... not here..." Dean turned her face and bent down, kissing her softly on the lips. Carly felt like her feet were cut off the ground, and only Dean had that effect on her.

Before things could get heated, he pulled away, caressing her cheek. "Let's go get us some sins."

* * *

_**Later**_

Dean sat on the floor with a row of candles behind him, loading a gun. Carly was across the room, filling flasks with holy water. She looked over at Dean, who looked back at her. They watched each other silently for a moment, until the lights began to flicker. They looked around. An old radio sparked to life, playing a scratchy tune.

Dean stood up, cocking the gun. "Here we go."

* * *

_**H****ouse – Night**_

Outside, a demon possessing Isaac yelled and cried for Tamara's help. "Tamara, I got away, but I'm hurt badly! I need help!"

Tamara bit her lower lip, not knowing what to do. Should she cry? Talk back at him?

"Tam, it's not him." Carly assured her. "It's one of the demons. It's possessing his corpse."

He pounded on the door, giving Carly a slight fright. "Baby! Why won't you let me in? You left me behind back there. How could you do that? We swore... At that lake in Michigan. Remember? We swore we would never leave each other!"

"How did he know that?" Tamara sobbed.

"Steady, Tamara." Sam told her in his best everything-will-be-okay tone.

"You just gonna leave me out here? You just gonna let me die?!" Isaac yelled. "I guess that's what you do, dear! Like that night those things came to our house... came for our daughter! You just let her die, too."

"You son of a bitch!" Tamara yelled back.

"Tamara, no!" Carly firmly warned her, but it was no use. She'd already pushed the door open. Breaking the salt line, and tackled Isaac down the steps. She landed on top of him and raised the Palo Santo.

"You're not Isaac!" she cried.

She plunged the wood deep into his chest, causing it to sizzle, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. The other six demons crossed the broken salt line and entered the house. One, an overweight middle-aged woman, cornered Carly, who backed up slowly. She stalked Carly confidently, smiling, until she stopped as if she'd run into an invisible wall. She looked around, confused. She'd walked right under the devil's trap on the ceiling. She looked at Carly, pleading. Carly smirked.

"Fat and stupid is no way to go through life, bimbo. Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus  
Spiritus, omnis satanica..."

* * *

_**House – Day**_

The next morning, Sam and Dean piled the corpses of the demons that didn't survive into a shallow pit and began pouring salt and fuel over them. Several yards away, Tamara was standing in front of another pyre: Isaac's.

"You think she's gonna be okay?" Sam asked. Dean shook his head in response.

"No. Definitely not." Carly came out of the house, looking worn out. Dean smirked. Her shirt was open, and the black camisole underneath was covered with blood, dirt and sweat. "Well, you look like hell warmed over."

"You try exorcising all nigh and see how you feel, dipstick." she dead-panned.

"Any survivors, Carly?" Sm asked. He really wasn't in the mood to see them fight anymore.

"Well, the pretty girl and the heavy woman, they'll make it. Lifetime of therapy bills ahead, but, still..."

"That's more than you can say for these poor bastards." Dean pointed out, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Carls, that knife—the one that demon used... what kind of blade can kill a demon?"

She frowned in response. "Well, yesterday I would've said there was no such thing."

"I'm just gonna ask it again—who was that masked chick?" Then he looked at Sam and smirked. "Actually, the more troubling question would be, 'how come a girl can fight better than you?'"

"Three demons, Dean. At once." Sam insisted. Dean was definitely not going to let him live it down.

Carly chuckled. "Hey, whatever it takes to get you through the night, pal." She patted his shoulder.

"You too?!" Sam whined. The laughter died down. "Well, if you want a troubling question, I got one for you... If we let out the seven deadly sins, what else did we let out?"

"You're right, that is troubling. Buy hey..." Carly assured him, smiling softly. "You don't think about that for now. We kicked deadly sin ass, dude. I can't wait to tell Dad about this!"

Dean lit a matchbook and tossed it onto the pyre. Later, the bonfire had settled down and they prepared to leave.

"See you gents around." Tamara smiled weakly at the Winchesters. They returned the smile. "And you, Carly Cooper..."

"What about me?" Carly smiled.

"Stop giving that boy a run for his money." Silence. "Oh, I know things, Carls. That boy, thick-headed as he may seem, he really cares about you."

"Whatever." Carly laughed humourlessly, rolling her eyes. Tamara turned on her heel to leave, but Carly stopped her. "Tamara? The world just got a lot scarier. Please be careful."

"You too." she replied, glancing briefly at Dean, who looked confused, before getting in her car and driving off. Carly walked over to the brothers.

"Well, I guess, uh, we're done here..." she sighed., looking especially at Dean. Dean nodded and looked away, at nothing in particular. Sam smiled knowingly.

"I'll be in the car." he said, and glanced at Carly. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"And you stay put too, Sam. Keep your eyes peeled for omens. I'll be doin' the same." she replied, and Sam walked off.

"So, um, Coop... You kicked major ass today." Dean said. 'Idiot! Say something else!' "Thanks for saving me from... Lust."

"Thanks, I guess..." Carly looked down, kicking a stone aside, only to toy with another one with the tip of her boot. "Listen, what I told you... back there..."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Dean smiled. She nodded.

"Good... So I'll see you around." She looked up at him.

"Yeah. See you around." he told her. A small smile stretched across her lips.

"Red." she simply said.

"What?"

"My underwear. They're red." she chuckled, her smile growing. Dean also chuckled. It was this ridiculous game Dean came up with, where whenever he called her in the past, instead of saying goodbye, he'd ask her what colour her underwear was. He couldn't believe she still remembered after all these years. "But I'm still mad at you. For walkin' out on me and selling your soul."

"We're gonna find a way to get me out of the deal though, right?"

"I'll see what I can do. I'll be in touch." she smiled, and stood on her tiptoes, kissing him softly on the lips. Dean moaned against her lips, kissing her back. Carly grabbed his leather jacket, pulling him as much as she could against her. The kiss got heated in a matter of seconds, with Dean's hands sliding down her waist, resting on her hips, squeezing gently. Carly pulled away abruptly. "You should go. Sam's probably gouging his eyes out right now." She fixed his jacket and walked towards her transit.

"Call me!" Dean yelled behind her. She waved him off and soon she was out of sight, leaving a trail of smoke and loud clattering noises coming from her engine. Dean shook his head smiling, and got inside the Impala, started the engine and drove off. After several minutes of driving, Dean rolled his eyes, knowing Sam was giving him brief glances of concern. "What, Sammy?"

"She's getting to you, isn't she?" he asked.

"Sammy, butt out." Dean snapped.

"Look, Dean. She likes you and judging from the way you usually act around girls, you like her too. If you keep treating her like this, by the time your year is up, she'd be really hurt."

"Treat her like what?"

"A fucking one-night stand, Dean." Sam yelled. "Dude, she's a good person. Hard-headed like you, but good. She cared about you enough to go to a crossroads' demon. She was willing to die for you, man."

"One-night stand?" Dean raised his eyebrows, and laughed. "Dude, we slept together way more than once."

"Like, generally or...?" Sam needn't ask. He thought he heard some weird noises coming from Bobby's garage, but he thought it was Dean watching porn. "You know what? I don't wanna know." Dean laughed. "Seriously? In her dad's garage?"

"Sammy, that girl really picks the weirdest places, let me tell you. One time it was—"

"No! No!" Sam whined, but still laughed. "Just..." He calmed own. "Be careful, okay?"

Dean's smile softened and kept on driving. After what she'd told him back in that house, he was going to be more careful than ever.

* * *

**VERY VERY VERY sorry it took me so damn long to get it done, but I was focusing on my other story, 'I Think I Like It Here', which is getting reviews unlike this one [hint hint] . But this chapter is finally over and done with. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR REVIEWS AND FAVOURITE IF YOU WANT MORE! Stay tuned for Chapter 3, where Carly's on an important quest!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Highway to Hell

**Here's chapter three! In case you were wondering, yes I know Jake Talley killed Sam, but I changed the plot and included Joshua, who will play a huge role in later chapters. Like I said in the first chapter I started writing this for my co-worker who's also a huge SPN fan, and his name's Joshua, so hello if you're reading this!**

* * *

Chapter Three - Highway to Hell

Carly had nowhere in particular to go. Bobby promised her that he'd call her if he ever needed help with any case. Sam also told her the same thing, but Dean seemed hesitant about the idea of hunting with her again. So for now she decided to take a break and spend a few days playing pool and hooking up with random bikers.

While she was about to make her first pit-stop, she received a phone call from Greg. Greg used to be one of her numerous friends-with-benefits who also happened to be a hunter. Carly froze when she saw his number flashing on her phone's screen. Last time she called him, she was very drunk, and the words that came out of her mouth were out of this world.

"Hey Coop. It's Greg."

She found the nearest parking spot and stopped her Transit.

"Greg, hey. How are you?"

"I'm fine." Silence. "So remember the last time you called me?"

Carly turned red. "Look, I was drunk and—"

On the other end, Greg laughed. "I meant before that. You called me about some guy named Joshua Black?" She sat up straight in her seat. She'd called him in hopes of tracking him, since he had the best tracking skills she'd ever seen in a hunter.

"Tell me." She ordered him, rummaging through her knapsack to find her iPad.

"I found him. It was fucking hard, mind you, but I managed to find him." Carly couldn't contain her excitement, letting out a squeal. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yes." She ran a hand through her hair. "Why was it so hard to track him?"

"It was like he had a force field around him most the time, you know?" In the background she heard papers shuffling and clicking. "But it stopped yesterday. Like poof, yeah? Then I did a background check on him. Joshua Black, 23 from Lima, Ohio. Lives alone, is the CEO of an audit firm and quite well-off."

"Co-ordinates?" Greg quickly told her the co-ordinates, which she typed in the search bar of one of her numerous GPS apps. As soon as the address popped up, Carly started her van and drove off. "I owe you."

"That mean you'll be coming over to my place for drinks later?"

Carly snorted. Typical Greg. "Not a fat chance, Greg." she laughed and hung up. She was only four hours away from Lima, and she wanted to be there by noon. She knew that if anyone, particularly Dean, found out about her meeting Joshua, she'd never hear the end of it. But she had to do this.

* * *

Joshua switched off the TV and threw the remote to the side. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Ever since the yellow-eyed demon, Azazel, came into his life a couple of months ago, he had never felt so alone. He felt alone when he worked all day as CEO of the most popular audit firm in Lima, let alone now that he lost his job and family. He lost contact with his sister when he was appointed CEO, and the demon made a one-off deal with Joshua: if he killed Sam Winchester, he'd reunite with his sister. And he did... only to find out she was slaughtered by the same demon.

He got up from the couch and dragged himself to the kitchen, where he found his cat, Xavier, asleep in his basket. Sometimes he wished he was him, so calm, relaxed and with no care in the world. He reached for the can of cat food, filled the empty food bowl, and threw the empty can into the bin. For the millionth time that day, he pressed the message key on his wall phone.

"You have no messages." the monotonous female voice said, and Joshua rolled his eyes. Of course there wasn't. He was about to pull the phone off the wall and smash it to the ground, but a knock on the front door interrupted him.

"No... no more demons..." he murmured to himself. Every now and then he'd have demons knocking on his door to check on him. They were always the people from his neighbourhood. But when he opened the door, he didn't find anyone he knew. It was a girl around his age, with long auburn hair and grey eyes. She was wearing normal clothes, which seemed to remind him of Sam Winchester for some reason. He sighed. He wondered if Dean was still mourning him.

"Joshua Black?" she asked. Joshua nodded.

"Yes. How can I help you?" Joshua retorted. The girl smiled.

"I need to talk to you about something very important." She looked expectantly inside the house, but Joshua pulled the door behind him, blocking her view.

"Who's asking?" he snapped, trying to tone his voice down. But he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Carly Cooper." She replied, and then she smiled briefly, adding, "Don't worry, Joshua. I'm not a demon."

"Dem—what?" He was really bad at feigning cluelessness and he knew it, so he gave in and let her inside. She looked around the big house, nodding with approval. "Um, please... sit down." Joshua told her, gesturing her into the kitchen. She sat down on a chair, and she smiled when she spotted the cat.

"Hey there, fella." she gushed, reaching out for the cat. Xavier hesitantly strode his way over to Carly, purring when his head was stroked by her hand. "What's his name?"

Joshua took out two mugs and set up the kettle to make some coffee. "Xavier. I was always big on French names" he replied with a smile. "So you said you're not a demon... Who are you then?"

"A friend." she replied cryptically, and then glared at him. "A friend of the man you killed too."

"Sam Winchester." Carly nodded. "I—" Joshua's voice trailed off, feeling a lump forming in his throat. Carly's look didn't change one bit. He swallowed that lump, but it didn't budge. At least he regained his voice. "I'm sorry."

"Ain't me you should be apologisin' to." she snapped.

"I didn't want to do it!" he cried, standing up. The kettle started whistling and he poured the hot liquid into the mugs. "I didn't want to do it." He repeated in a calmer tone, bringing the two mugs in the middle of the table. "That... that BASTARD!... He told me if I killed Sam Winchester he'd help me reunite with my sister. And I did... only to find her SLAUGHTERED."

Her facial expressions softened a little bit. He killed someone to reunite with his sister. Carly realised all this man wanted was to see his sister again. If Dean, Sam and Bobby knew why Joshua did what he did, maybe they'd understand? Especially the two brothers. Dean _did_ sell his soul for his brother right?

Carly took a sip of coffee. "Joshua, you're not safe here. You know that, right?" He nodded, looking down. "Pack your stuff. You're leaving here."

"What?"

Carly scoffed. "You heard me. Pack up as soon as we finish the coffee. You can't stay anymore."

"I have nowhere else to go." he pointed out.

"We'll stay in a motel for the night, and then I'm driving us to my dad's. He can help." she explained.

Joshua bit his lower lip, glancing sideways at Xavier, who was calmly eating her food. "What about my cat?"

Carly looked at it and smiled softly. "He can tag along. I like animals." Joshua smiled. Looking back at him, she asked, "So, Black. What's your ability?"

Joshua smirked and balled one hand into a fist, and slowly, his hand started turning brighter. Like fire. Carly's eyes opened wide and she couldn't help but gasp. He chuckled in response, and when he opened his hand, there was a flame floating over the palm of his hand.

"Mother fucker..." she whispered to herself in awe. "That's awesome."

Joshua shook his head, putting off the flame with his other hand. "I discovered the ability while I was..." his voice trailed off, turning a bit red. "... and I burnt his neck. He freaked out, and stormed out of my house. Never got a call back." He half-joked.

She winced. "Ouch."

After that, the two talked about outcasts for all their lives and then the conversation ended on the night Joshua stabbed Sam in the back. He certainly wasn't expecting the news that Dean sold his soul to bring Sam back to life. That really surprised him.

"So they're both alive."

Carly nodded as she helped him carry some of his bags. "Dean only has a year left. Well, give or take a few weeks."

"From what you've told me, you and Dean had quite a past." he teased. Sip after sip, they finished drinking their coffee.

"Well, yeah. Kinda. Sorta..." Carly averted her eyes, and then went back to business, clearing her throat. "Clean up. You have exactly an hour to pack some things so we can leave this place for good."

"So I won't sell this place? You know this mansion is worth millions right?"

At the word 'millions', Carly huffed. "Fine. We'll leave here tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm gonna take a nap because I've been driving for over eight hours with no pit-stops."

* * *

For the first time in ages, Joshua felt like weight was lifted off his shoulders. Evaporated. Poof. Nothing. He laughed at Carly's very cheesy (and off-key) impersonation of a Celine Dion song which was playing on the radio, as Xavier rested on his lap, asleep.

"So where does your dad live?" he asked. Carly yawned and made a right.

"Sioux Falls. It's the capital city of nowhere." She joked. "I only found out he was my dad a couple of weeks ago. When my mom died, I found an old box with photos and my birth certificate."

"You never saw your own birth certificate?"

"Nope." she answered, popping the 'p'. Spotting a motel, Carly's eyes lit up and quickly parked her car. "Her and dad were just a one-night stand. But dad let me know that he would've stepped forward and been there in my life if he knew was to become a dad."

"Wow." Joshua whispered. "My dad... he wasn't really present in my life. I was in the system up until I graduated high school. Then I went to college, University, and then I became CEO."

Carly grinned. "Sometimes not having your parents around makes you stronger. You push yourself to be like others, only to become better."

Once checked in—Carly made Joshua wait outside so the receptionist wouldn't see the cat—Joshua immediately let Xavier go and slumped onto the bed, taking a deep breath. "So is my nightmare over yet?"

Carly licked her lips as she put their bags by the door, not knowing how to reply. "Not exactly. I think what you experienced was the beginning of the fucked-up plans Azazel has in store."

"Brutally honest. Nice." Joshua murmured, mostly to himself. Yawning he added, "I'm gonna rest my eyes for a bit. Wake me up when we're about to leave, okay?"

"Sure thing, Josh. I'll be in the next room if you need any help." she smiled, and went in her room next door. Once there, she took off her boots, jeans and flannel shirt, sitting on her bed in a camisole and black panties. She desperately needed to sleep; it had been years since she took a good night's sleep, since her 16th birthday to be exact. The sleeping pills her mother's doctor prescribed her a couple of years ago never worked.

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. "Cooper." she said in a tired tone.

"It's Dean."

Carly's head rested against the soft pillows. Still tired, still not sleepy. "Dean, hey." What would it take her to get a straight hour of shut-eye?!

Silence. "You don't sound too pleased to hear from me." She could hear the rumbling of the Impala's engine in the background.

"It's, um, been a very long day. So tell me, what do you want?"

"Okay I need your help with a case."

"Well you've called the right person." she smirked, sitting a little upright.

"What can you tell me about changelings?" he asked her.

"They're creatures found in folklore religion. According to lore, they climb in the window, snatch the kid. I'd say the chief changeling assumes a trustworthy human, say a friendly neighbour or someone who works well with children. Let's see... what else..." Carly rubbed the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. "Changelings feed on the mom: synovial fluid. The moms have these odd bruises on the back of their necks. Changelings can drain them for a few weeks before mom finally croaks."

"The moms?" Dean repeated. Carly could hear shuffling of papers and key sounds in the background, she could tell Dean was in the company of his brother.

"Yes. Oh, and the changeling's true form is shown through reflection."

"Any weaknesses?" Sam was heard asking in the background.

"Fire. Tell Sammy it's fire." The rumbling of the Impala stopped, and Carly heard the sound of a car door opening and closing.

"Thanks, uh, Coop." Dean told her.

"No big. Anything else you need, my phone's always on."

"Yeah, one last thing... What colour underwear are you wearin'?"

Carly scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're a pig."

"Hey, a man has to ask!" Dean protested, but she could almost see the smirk plastered on his face. Pervert. "So...?"

Carly chewed on her lower lip, reminiscing the phone calls she and Dean shared several years back, where he'd ask her what colour underwear she was wearing. And each time, the call turned into phone sex.

She wasn't that person anymore.

"Goodnight Dean."

"But—"

Carly didn't give him the time of day, hanging up abruptly and throwing the phone next to her on the bed. Tapping her fingers against the beside table, she looked around, trying to find something to do. She knew she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. First, she decided to meditate, trying to calm herself and forget about her rough past with Dean, daddy issues, abusive hunters...

She groaned with frustration. Meditation didn't make her forget, it made her remember more of her fucked-up life. Her eyes landed on the bathroom door, and decided to take a quick shower. The shower made her even more energetic, and she pounded against the wet tiled wall.

"Stupid insomnia." she murmured to herself as she dried her hair. Thirty minutes had passed since she left Joshua in his room, so she decided to go check up on him in case something happened. Quietly, she crept through his room, where he was lying on his bed, asleep. Xavier was perched cosily on the table pushed to the side. Carly looked at the time marked on the VCR player. It was only ten in the evening, so she decided to go buy some food and beer.

"Joshua, hey, sorry to wake you. I can't sleep so I'm gonna go buy some food. Do you want me to get you anything?" she asked him, moving closer to the bed. He didn't even flinch. "Hey, man, wake up for one sec." She shook him gently, and gasped. The boy wasn't moving. "Oh fuck." Carly's breathing got heavier, and soon started hyperventilating. "Joshua, wake the fuck up, goddamn it!" She performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth, but to no avail. Then she proceeded to slapping him gently on each cheek. "This is not happening, this is _not_ happening!"

Her thoughts were jumbled up, and she was so shaken up she started crying and yelling for Joshua to wake up. Quickly, she checked whether there were any bottles of pills hidden, and after turning the room upside down, she found nothing of the sort. 'What if he had something earlier?' she then thought. Checking his temperature, he was so warm she winced loudly, waving her burnt hand in the air as she blew on in.

Carly ran into his bathroom, which had a bathtub and turned the water on, putting it on the coldest possible temperature, and ran back to Joshua. She ripped his tshirt open and threw the fabric side, and dragged him to the bathtub.

"Ugh, damn your built body." she grumbled. He was so heavy she had to pause at several occasions to catch her breath. When she got by the bathtub, she propped his legs up, sliding them over the edge and into the bath. Joshua shook a little, which was a sign that he was regaining consciousness. Checking his breath, Carly found that it was very shaky and quick, like he was running. "Stay with me, Black." she told him, pulling his upper body into the tub. Once he was submerged, he gained his breath, and started choking on the water.

"Oh thank god!" was the first thing he said in a raspy voice, reaching to hug her. She averted her eyes awkwardly, and proceeded to pat him on the shoulder. When she pulled away, she noticed he was crying. "I thought I—I was stuck down there! Nearly three days, Carly! Three!"

"Three days?" Carly furrowed her eyebrows. "Dude, you were dead for half an hour. I thought you, uh Od'ed yourself."

"Half an hour?" Joshua repeated.

"You said 'down there'... What were you referring to?"

"Hell, Carly. I was down in Hell."

Did she hear him correctly? Did he just say he was down in...? "Hell? As in fire, souls ripped apart? That Hell?"

"It's the most horrible place you'll ever witness in your life. I wouldn't wish it on anyone." He stepped out of the bathroom, his jeans soaking wet. Carly reached for some towels and handed them to him.

"Did anyone notice you there?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "No, it was as if I was... blending in. I tried talking to someone, telling them who I am, but

"Dry yourself while I get you some clean clothes and make some coffee." She stood up. "Hey, as long as I'm in the next room, nothing will happen to you, you hear me, Black? Not on my watch." Joshua nodded meekly and proceeded to dry himself. Carly sighed and wiped her sweaty face.

If Joshua could go in and out of hell, that would mean he's part-demon, right? 'Better take some precautions.' she thought, pouring holy water in his cup of coffee. In all her years of research and reading, she'd never come across a person who could walk in and out of hell.

She had to call her dad and talk to him about this. From the pocket of her jacket, she took out the tub of sleeping pills, and took two out. Crushing them until they were dust, she swept them from the counter-top into Joshua's cup. She let the coffees cool up, and fetched a pair of tracksuit bottoms, boxers and a clean white tshirt. She knocked on the bathroom door.

"Come in."

She entered. Joshua was stark-naked, except for a towel wrapped round his waist. "Brought you some clean clothes. Coffee's cooling up."

"Thanks, Carly." he smiled, taking the clothes in his arms. "Uh, I have to ask—"

Carly lifted her hand, stopping him. "It's okay, Joshua. I'll pack my stuff and move in your room. As long as you don't spoon, we'll be okay."

Joshua smiled weakly. "I don't swing your way."

Nodding and letting out a half-smile, Carly went out of the bathroom and into her room. His words from earlier echoed in her head.

_It's the most horrible place you'll ever witness in your life. I wouldn't wish it on anyone._

Time was ticking, and didn't want to waste any more time. With Joshua able to walk in and out of hell unseen, Carly could get possible information on Dean's deal. At first it was about Sam and Dean forgiving Joshua for what he did—which was close to impossible considering Dean wanted to kill him—but now it's different. Joshua could help her dad with research regarding hell.

Carly Cooper had to save Dean Winchester, even if it was the last thing she'd ever do.

* * *

**So Joshua can walk in and out of Hell unnoticed. What do you think of that? Now remember that Joshua has the ability to light up fire, which later will be linked to the whole going in hell thing. What do you think? Review section is empty, so fill it up! Let me know what you think :) I apologise for the short chapter but I wrote it quickly before I got ready for work.**

Next chapter will have the intense reunion between the Winchesters and Joshua. Will Dean freak out? Will Sam forgive him? Stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 4 - Heart to Heart

**I'm really surprised: Nearly 195 views on my stories! WHAAAAAAAT?! I've barely had the account a month and—WOW. I'm speechless. Thank you guys so so much! Here's to reaching 200 tonight! [fingers crossed]**

**I apologise for the lack of updates. Writer's block, what cha gonna do huh? But anyways, here's the chapter, hope you like it.**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Heart to Heart

As usual, Carly barely slept a wink during the night. This time round, it was twice as bad since she had to look out for Joshua, in case last night repeated itself. Once she was up, she wrote a note, placing it next to his head, telling him that she went out for a run and to fetch breakfast. She put on black spandex running leggings, fitted sleeveless tank top and running shoes, picked up her iPod and earphones—the room's key and couple of bills tucked inside her sports bra—and bolted.

She was once again contemplating telling her dad about Joshua. She didn't want three people out there that wanted to kill the kid, so if at least one person knew and was on her side—or understood why Joshua had to do what he did—that person could convince the Winchester to cut them some slack. Or all the slack. Knowing how persistent she can be, Carly smirked to herself.

She can totally convince Bobby to take her side.

As she was waiting for the takeout to be ready, she sat down inside a booth and called Bobby.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hi... It's me, Carly."

Noticing the pause, Bobby said, "You know you can, uh, call me dad right? If you want to, of course."

"Um, sure. Yeah. Dad."

"Last time I heard a peep from you was before the deadly sins' case. Where've you been?" he asked. 'Wow, he really doesn't beat around the bush.'

"That's kinda why I'm calling you." Carly sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You're aware of... the kid who killed Sam..."

"Yeah... what about 'im?" He sounded very stern, like talking about him was poison.

"I called in a favour from a... friend... and he managed to track him down." Silence. "Dad, before you go ape-shit crazy. Just... hear me out—"

"Are you outta your mind, girl?!" he yelled. She could tell he was alone, because if he yelled in front of the others they'd ask what's happening. "You went to look for the asshole who killed Sam... ALONE?! The man's a killer! With abilities! And demon blood! You could've been killed!"

"He killed him because that yellow-eyed son of a bitch promised he'd bring his sister back." she paused. "When he killed Sam, he took him to her... only to find her dead. Throat slit open."

"Is that supposed to make me feel the slightest sorry?" Bobby dead-panned.

"So you're telling me you wouldn't have one the same thing? Imagine Azazel promised he'd let you see your mother, or your best friend or something if only you killed someone, you wouldn't go through with it?"

"Not in this life or the next!" he snapped.

"Look, Joshua's legit scared out of his wits of demons. He thought I was one. He knows about holy water and salt and all the basics. And last night—you know what? Never mind. I just wanted one person to be on my side and I guess you're not."

"Here's your order, Miss." the waitress placed a plastic bag filled with two bottles of cola and two cardboard takeout boxes.

"Thanks." Claire whispered nicely, and went back to speaking on the phone. "Dad, I just—I don't trust easily. I hate interacting with people if it means I get to be acquaintances, so if I trust this kid Joshua, then he's worth your trust too. I've seen you an email with everything I have about him. And I have more. But I'll tell you when we're there this afternoon."

"The boys will be here too." Bobby said in a worried tone. He really was scared of an outburst happening on his front porch.

"Good, because they're gonna want to know about this. It could help in Dean's contract with hell's elite." Carly pointed out, picking up the bag, standing up and exiting the takeout place. "I'll see you at around four then, dad."

"Sure kid. Be careful." Bobby told her, and hung up.

Carly held the phone in front of her and murmured, "Goodbye to you, father."

She walked quickly back to the motel room, where she found Joshua watching TV on the bed with Xavier on his lap. When he heard the door, he jolted, reaching for the knife that was underneath the pillow.

"Relax, Rambo. It's just me." Joshua lowered the knife. "I bought us breakfast." she told him, placing the bag on the table. "I hope you don't mind Chinese takeout for breakfast. It was the first place I encountered during my run."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Joshua asked, gently putting his cat on the floor as he walked to the table, sitting down and taking one of the boxes. It smelled so good; he hadn't had takeout in ages. "I mean, I know after... last night you feel like you need to protect me and all..." he paused and took a deep breath, glancing up at her. "I killed your friend out of greed, and you're being okay about it."

"Josh—can I call you that? Of course I can—I'm not okay with you killing Sam. In fact, I might hit you, right here, right now, if you ever bring that up again because you fucking murdered a friend of mine." Joshua swallowed thickly. Carly's features softened, sitting down and starting breakfast. "But you did it for your sister. And it might shed some light on your situation. Dean selling his soul to save Sam's kinda like you killing him for your sister."

Joshua half-smiled and scoffed. "If that's ever gonna convince them..."

While still chewing her food, she told him, "I told my dad about you. And I think he's on our side."

"You _think_ he's on our side? Great, one more in the waiting line to kill me!" he whined, throwing his hands in the air, chopsticks in one hand.

"He's my dad. I'll work up some daughter-in-distress charm on him, hope it works." Joshua couldn't help but chortle. Carly smiled teasingly. "Oh, so the kid _does_ smile."

"You gotta stop calling me kid. I'm sure I'm older than you. You look 25."

"You're older than 25?! No way, not with those supermodel good looks." she insisted, eyes wide open with disbelief. "Nah-uh. I refuse to believe that."

"I'm 28." he replied. "And uh, as for my... supermodel good looks, as you've called them, thank a healthy diet and lots of exercising."

"28? seriously? Wow." Carly snorted and took a rather satisfying sip form her cola. "And healthy eating's for losers. I eat junk, and I still have a great body."

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Turning 23..." she froze, realising that her 23rd birthday happens to be around the time Dean's contracts would expire. She swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling physically sick. She wasn't in the mood of anything anymore. "...soon."

"Did—Did I say something wrong?" Joshua asked in concern.

"It's just..." Carly rolled her eyes, feeling them teary. 'Nice, I'm crying over a boy I hate that I like who's gonna die near my birthday.' "My birthday's close to Dean's... you know."

"Oh, Carly..." Joshua shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, before standing up, walked round the table and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I asked."

"Hey, you didn't know. It's okay, pal." she replied, patting him uncomfortably on the arm. "You can let me go now."

"Sorry." he mumbled apologetically, sitting back down. "So you really don't want him to... go?"

"Why would I want him to? The man saved my life for a whole month." Carly shook her head. "For one month I felt like myself. No drinking, no sexually-abusive hunters, no mom..." Sighing, she drank the last of her cola.

"Wait, you didn't tell me you spent a whole month with dean. Details." The conversation fell back to what seemed like normal girl talk—or well, girl-gay talk in Joshua's case. "Did you two, like, have a proper relationship?"

Carly blushed, looking down at her practically empty cardboard box. "Not really proper. We find a case, solve it, sleep together, repeat same cycle the next day." Then a small smile spread across her lips as she remember that one time before he drove to Palo Alto to see his brother. "But... this one time, last day I saw him—before he went to find Sam—we went out on a date. We never called it that, but I... it felt like it."

"Where did he take you?" Joshua asked, suddenly interested. It was these moments that he'd craved for during the whole demons-out-to-get-me lockdown. Something to get his mind off things, some girl talk.

Looking own at her hands clasped together on the table, her smile grew brighter. "The circus. It was somewhere in town and he took me." She chuckled. "He didn't know I have this huge fear of clowns. I ended up crying and burying my face in his chest everytime we passed one of them sons of bitches."

"That wasn't nice..." he wrinkled his nose.

"The date wasn't, but that night... we didn't have sex. We just... slept in each other's arms, and he whispered cheesy crap in my ear. Next morning..." she sighed and looked at Joshua. "...he was gone. No note, nothing. I tried calling him but the number had been disconnected. And I never saw him again until a couple of days ago."

"So that's why the love/hate relationship between the two?"

"He walked out on me, Joshua. I was hurt. He was—never mind."

"He was what?"

"He was my first... my first boyfriend. There." She was getting uncomfortable with where this topic was heading. "If you comment or go all gushy and girly on me, I'm kicking your ass." she warned him.

"No no, not at all. But haven't you told him that?"

Laughing humourlessly, she asked, "Why would I wanna do that?"

"So he could apologise for walking out on you."

"That month wasn't all rainbows and candies, you know... We, uh, argued most of the time. The sex was always angry sex... very hot angry sex." She shook her head as if to shake off the image out of her head. "But that's not what it was about. Dean's very loyal to his dad. Worshipped the man. Heck, I did too when I hunted with him and one of my mom's boyfriends once. When he went missing a few days before me and Dean met, Dean fell apart. And I felt like I was being used. As some kind of... pastime. A pastime for the time he looked for his dad. And then he bailed on me. The last day we spent together was so amazing, I never stopped thinking about having that for one more time. Before he..."

"Hey, Cooper..." Joshua reached over and held her hand, squeezing it. "It's gonna be okay. You're a strong, feisty woman. You can fight this and be the winner. And if you want, I'll talk to Dean..." He frowned, furrowing his eyebrows with concern. "...if he doesn't kill me, that is."

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**Hope you liked the chapter even though it's short—and ended vaguely—but, as usual, I've been too sleepy and tired to actually write a lengthy one. I'll improve though, I promise.**

**Next chapter will feature Dean and Joshua's confrontation and 'Bad Day at Black Rock' (ie. 3X03) so it will be a while until this story will be updated so be patient! Remember I have to re-watch the episode _and_ re-write the whole script to include Carly.**

**Also, a new chapter for 'I Think I Line It Here' is up so check it out and tell me what you think :) 'Baby's Got Blue Eyes' will be updated in the next couple of days.**


	6. Chapter 5 - Forgive But Never Forget (1)

**Sorry it took so long to update but I was so caught up with my other story 'Baby's Got Blue Eyes' that I kinda neglected this and 'I Think I Like It Here' but fear not! Cos here's Chapter 5! Features some fight scenes at the beginning.**

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Chapter 5 – Forgive But Never Forget

"Carly, before we go..." Joshua paused, looking down at Xavier in his arms. "He can't come along on this journey. No one would be there to take care of him but me and I don't think I'm ft enough for this anymore."

She twisted her mouth, thinking of a solution. He was right: Dean hated animals, Sam liked them but he's always travelling so he wouldn't be able to take care of him and Bobby... well, she didn't know about her dad that much but he didn't seem like the cat kind of man. "Yeah, I think it's better if we, uh, give him up for adoption. Nobody would have time to take care of the cat, especially now in the midst of a pre-apocalyptic war."

"War?"

"Remember that day I came to find you?" He nodded. "Yeah I'd just finished icing the Seven Deadly Sins. I think that pretty much qualifies it as pre-apocalyptic war material, don't you think so too?"

He sighed. "This shit is scary, Carly. Like, these are hell's elite coming to get us humans."

"Well, that's the apocalypse for you." she replied, picking up her duffel bag. "You all packed up?"

Joshua nodded, picking up his small hand-luggage with one hand while holding the cat in his other arm. "I guess." he shrugged.

"Good. You go check us out while I bring my truck out front." Joshua handed Carly Xavier, who immediately burrowed his face between her breasts. She rolled her eyes, looking at Joshua. "Reminds me of someone I used to know." she murmured, referring to Dean.

Joshua couldn't help but chuckle before disappearing round the corner with the keys, while she carried her bag and Xavier towards her truck. She opened the door and gently placed Xavier as further towards the passenger side as she could before hopping inside, throwing her bag aimlessly behind her. The cat made a weird strangled noise once Carly started her truck.

"I promise I'll get it fixed soon, cat." she told it, before driving to the front of the motel.

* * *

"She did what?!" Dean yelled angrily at Bobby. He'd just told him she reached out for Joshua Black, and all Dean was seeing was red. "That... that bitch!"

Bobby rose up from his chair. "Hey! That's my daughter you're talkin' 'bout there, boy!"

"She knows that son of a bitch killed Sammy and now she goes runnin' off with him! How could she?" To say Dean was angry and upset was an understatement. He was also worried Joshua killed her, that he could be possessed... everything negative, really.

"Dean, calm down." Sam told him with his calmest possible tone, but deep down he was also worried about Carly's safety. "Hey, maybe _she_ ended _him_."

"Guys..." Bobby started. They stared at him. "She called me this morning." Their stern looks softened just a pinch. At least she's okay. "And she told me she's bringing him over hre."

Dean's fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white and he was sure they were bleeding from his nails digging so deep into them. "Carly did WHAT?!"

"Bobby, you're joking right?" Sam snapped. "This man killed me just days ago, and she's bringing him here?!"

"I wish I was kidding, boys." Bobby said, shaking his head in dismay. "That girl's as hard-headed as someone else in this room." He stared pointedly at Dean, who glared back. "I told her it wasn't a good idea, but she insisted. She said he could be our key into getting Dean out of his deal."

"Well fuck the deal!" Dean shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "I'd rather die than see that son of a bitch again."

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't try harder in changing her mind." Bobby said.

"It's not your fault, Bobby. It's okay." Sam insisted.

'Thank god for Sam' Bobby thought, giving him a weak, thankful smile. His smile disappeared immediately when he heard the sound of Carly's van's engine from outside. 'Oh no.'

Dean's eyes flared, breathing deeply through his nose. He grabbed the shotgun which sat next to him on the couch, cocking it as he kicked the front door open.

Carly stopped the car and when she saw how angry Dean was, she turned to Joshua. "Lock all the doors. Whatever happens do NOT let Dean inside the truck."

"As if I'd do that!" he cried. He was scared out of his skin. Dean looked worse than any of the demons down under; he was that angry.

She stepped out of the truck, and as soon as she closed the door, Joshua locked it.

"Are you crazy?!" Dean screamed as he came face to face with Carly. "Travelling with a killer and bringing him over here?! Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

"Dean, calm down for a second..." Sam ordered his brother in a warning tone.

"Do _not_ fucking tell me to calm down, Sammy!" Dean snapped, turning his head round to look at his brother. He then turned back to Carly, whose face was stony. She didn't flinch as he yelled at her. In a slightly calmer voice, he asked, "What were you thinking, Coop?"

"I was thinking you should hear _his_ side of the story, which by the way, is so similar to yours." she snapped. "But first, you need to promise me you won't be putting a bullet through his brain just yet."

'Just yet'... which meant he could later. Dean reluctantly lowered his gun, glaring deathly at Joshua, who gulped. "He killed my brother..." Dean choked out.

Carly's face softened, putting her hands on his shoulders, squeezing gently. "I know, and I hate him for that too. But Dean... Azazel ordered him to kill Sam and in return he'd see his sister." Dean didn't look at her. "Look at me, Dean, please." she whispered, and his eyes rolled up, looking into hers. "He killed Sammy to see his sister again. His sister was killed. He regrets killing Sam, and told me if he knew his sister was dead he wouldn't have killed Sam."

"How's that anything like me?" he asked. "Enlighten me, please."

Removing her hands from his shoulders, she replied, "You're sacrificing yourself to save Sam, just like he killed a man for his sister." Before he could say anything else, she added, "Don't you dare say this is different, because it ain't."

"Carly, is it true?" Sam asked, walking up to her. "Did he do what he did for his sister?"

"Yes, Sam. And I know when a person lies, and Joshua most definitely didn't lie. He's so broken up about killing you, it's all he's talked about: apologising to you." she explained. "When I told him about your brother selling his soul for you—that you're alive—he wanted to tell you how sorry he is."

Sam looked down for a brief second, as if to think, and then back up at her. "I wanna talk to him."

"Do you want to put a bullet through his brain?" Sam shook his head slowly. "Okay." She turned and walked over to her truck. She stopped in front of his side, and knocked on the window. "Sam wants to speak with you, and no, he doesn't want to kill you."

"I'll come out once Dean drops his gun." he told her. Carly nodded and walked back to the Winchesters.

"He's willing to step out of the truck when Dean drops the gun." She gave him a look, and Dean sighed, handing the gun to Bobby. Seeing this, Joshua reluctantly unlocked the car door, opened it and stepped out. Sam and Dean were a little taken aback: he was more built than he was a couple of weeks ago. But that still didn't stop Dean from storming over to him.

"Dean, stop!" Bobby yelled, trying to stop him, but Dean obviously wouldn't listen. He grabbed Joshua from the collar of his shirt, making him whimper a little.

"You son of a bitch! You call yourself human then go ahead and kill people! HUH!" he yelled through gritted teeth, his face just inches from his. Carly ran up to them, and managed to stand in between them, one hand on each of their chests. "Let me finish him, Coop."

"No!" she yelled, glaring up at him. "You promised!"

"I promised not to put a bullet through his brain. You said nothing about hitting him 'til he's a fucking piece of crap." he replied through gritted teeth. She gently pushed him. "Carly, step aside."

"No." she firmly told him. Dean tried to push her aside, but she was too strong.

"Carly!"

"No!" she yelled, pushing Joshua aside so hard he stumbled backwards, nearly falling to the ground. As Dean was about to run after him, Carly held him back by the wrists with both hands. "Stop!" she yelled, and at the same time Dean turned around and—

_SLAP!_

Silence.

"Oh my god."

Bobby's eyes opened wide, gasping. Sam and Joshua, who quickly walked cautiously over to Sam and Bobby, also gasped. Dean's mouth opened slightly, letting out a small choking noise, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself immediately. Carly's face was hidden by her long hair, but everyone could hear her breathing heavily through her mouth, one hand over her cheek, where Dean had slapped her.

He immediately wanted to die, there and then. He couldn't believe he'd actually slapped her. He wanted to see if she was okay, but he couldn't move. He was shocked at what he'd done. All he had to say for himself was, "Carls..." as he took a cautious step forward. Without even looking, she shoved him away. "Please, Carly... I'm sorry..." he tried again, walking towards her, but she shoved him away even harder than before.

"Don't you dare touch me." Her voice was trembling. Dean shut his eyes for a solid second before opening them again. She was crying. He _had_ to slap her! He couldn't have just pushed her aside.

"I'm sorry." he cried, his voice broken. "Please, let's talk..." He was about to grab her from the elbow when she turned round to look at him. Her face was red and smeared with tears and eye make-up.

"You did some pretty fucked-up shit in the past to hurt me, Dean." she said through gritted teeth. "And I forgave you, each fucking time, and I chose to forget them. But this..." she pointed at her left cheek, where he'd slapped her. "... this I'll never forget." She paused. "I hope you rot in Hell." she mumbled, walking past him, bumping her shoulder hard into his bicep, and inside Bobby's house.

For a moment, everyone fell silent. Dean had his back at the others, who could see his shoulders moving. However they couldn't tell whether he was crying or simply breathing very heavily. Suddenly, Dean stormed off towards the Impala. He opened the door, slammed it shut loudly and started the engine, pulled out of the front of the salvage yard and drove away.

"This is all my fault." Joshua whispered, shaking his head. "If Carly didn't bring me here—"

"Let's not start pointing fingers, kid." Bobby told him softly. "Why don't we all go inside and straighten things out huh? We've a lot to discuss."

Joshua nodded, and Bobby patted his shoulder in a friendly everything-will-be-okay manner before going inside. Sam followed them, but didn't stop into the den. "I'm gonna go talk to Carly." he told them. Bobby smiled weakly.

"Good luck getting through to her."

"I'm willing to take the risk." Sam replied, and ran upstairs. He knew which room was hers, as it was the only one closed. He knocked gently. "Carly, it's me, Sam. Open up." Silence. Ne more knock. "Carly, open up. Dean's not here. He left. I just wanna see if you're okay."

"I just got slapped by Dean and you're asking me if I'm _okay_?" she cried from the other side. "Of course I'm not okay, Sam!"

"Please can you open up? It's just me." On the other side were some shuffling noises and footsteps before Carly unlocked the door, opening it wide enough for Sam to squeeze right inside. Once he was in her room, he closed the door behind him, locking it so one would interrupt their talk.

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**Well that escalated quickly... So what do you think of Dean's actions? Not right, I know, but it was the heat of the moment (NO PUN INTENDED HAHAHA!) and it happened, but don't worry guys: he'll make up for it REAL soon. Next chapter will pick up from here, and the one after will feature 'Bad Day at Black Rock', which is Season 3 Episode 3, so you're gonna have to be patient for an update as I'll have to re-watch the whole episode (or most of it) and re-write the whole script to include Carly and a few appearances from Joshua.**

**Remember to check out the two one-shot prequels 'Dirty Little Thing' and 'Everybody Loves a Clown' (in order of which happened first) so you could get a slight idea of how Dean and Carly came to be and ended. I might include more revolving around Carly so you'd get to know her past a little better but so far, these are the only two prequels.**

**New chapters for both 'Baby's Got Blue Eyes' and 'I Think I Like It Here' will be coming up this week so stay tuned!**

**Until next time!**


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